9/15/10

sleepless in seattle

40 weeks, 3 days. LIVE BLOG (please excuse any typos)

*change of plans*

4:16 am - it looks like baby c/z has plans. after an anticipated delivery date this past sunday, HM and i are now at the hospital. i'm sitting next to her as she squeezes my hand every 4 minutes when the contractions hit. i've never witnessed her in so much physical pain. it is hard for me to watch.

when we watched wall e last night, HM mentioned she started to have weird feelings. at 1130pm, we decided to get ready for bed and a 1/2 hour later she was writhing in pain. she suggested we get ready for bed so we can get some rest. after midnight, she was having contractions close to 10 minutes apart....a surprise to us since she hasn't had any yet.

our scheduled induction tomorrow has now changed into a highly probable labor and delivery today. she is now hooked up with some pain meds and 4cm's dilated. the oncall physician has been notified and now we're waiting. poor HM is tired and sleepy. our little buddy wants out.

time is passing fast, but i'm also holding HM's hand when she calls me over .... more to come soon.

end post.

5:55 am - i'm in the waiting room now as HM receives her epidural. the IV meds that she took made her even more sleepy but at least reduced some of the pain. she still can squeeze the heck out of my hand though!

an english family is in the room with me...husband just walks in to his parents and in laws -- "pretty good sized baby. born at 5:17am. 18 inches, 6 lbs 7 oz.". these people are quite big and tall. maybe his wife is tiny. if my baby comes out bigger than theirs, then maybe there is hope of a future basketball star in the family, eh? oh who am i kidding...

the doctors don't allow family in the room during the epidural process...not sure why. maybe it's cuz crazy husbands would cause trouble. i hope HM is doing ok. only a few more minutes till i can go see her....

end post.

7:43am - back in the room w/HM. epidural is set and the waiting game has begun. we've tried to take a nap for the last hour or so, but both of us are secretly sitting awake in silence. though our minds and and bodies are exhausted, our hearts are pounding with anticipation. who can sleep now?

Dr. D just came in suggested she 'manually breaks the water' to speed up the process. HM agreed to do so and 3 mins later, Dr. D is out the door to handle a c-section. it appears she has 4 of her own patients who checked in last night. HM always told me that the life of an OB-GYN is not one that she could handle. the hours alone are so demanding and the malpractice insurance can be as much as a BMW 7 series.

we had planned to have a relaxing day handling some errands, but i think we are in for a better treat. i could be a dad by my next update!

end post.

9:08am - time to eat.

i've always wondered why the texas medical center (TMC) hospitals have mcdonalds as their main restaurant of choice. sure, it's fast food and easy, but doesn't it somewhat contradict what hospitals are here for -- to prolong life? the obvious choice would be subway. i mean..look at jared fogle for goodness sakes! to be fair, there are other cafe's/restaurants and even some other nice choices for quick eats. but you have to give props to the golden arches for sapping up all the prime retail space. kinda reminds me of the humans in wall e.

speaking of eating, i don't believe i ever mentioned the goal i set for myself at the beginning of this journey. my goal was to be exactly the same weight i was the day we confirmed that HM was pregnant. initial weight: 151lbs. today's weight: 152.5.

i know it doesn't sound like much, but in my eyes i technically still failed. i didn't want to be part of the 'sympathy weight/pains/gains' conversation. oh well, as long as my belly is healthy, right? oops.

......progress has slowed down a bit. i know it's past 9am and we've been here since 230, but it just doesn't seem like it. i will admit, that there is a lot more waiting around than i expected. i know people told me before, but you don't really realize it until it happens in your shoes. when someone says, "man, we were waiting at the hospital for a whole day." -- it doesn't effect me much. i've been here for 7 hrs and i'm restless, cranky, and still avoiding to use the hospital restroom. i'm a little edgy about stuff like that.

still waiting for you baby calvin or zoey.....

end post.10:20am - HM is around 9cm's dilated. Dr. D is in her 2nd c section for the morning. it looks like we're gonna start pushing this baby out...literally. the nurse informed us that everything is going well. baby's heartrate is good, head down, and it might even be an easier-than-anticipated delivery.

i originally started blogging about training for my first marathon. one year later, it's all about becoming a first time parent!
and as a lover of movies and pop culture, i try to incorporate my life into my title posts...